Unfriended: Dark Web (2018) – Movie Review

Thought I better throw this one up on here before my mail box explodes with an overload of notifications! 🙂

Yep, I watched it a couple of weeks back, but I had several rather diverse titles to put up on here first…but it hasn’t panned out that way. So, thank you to everyone who took the time to message me about this…but now it’s time to stop (LOL).

The Plot

A teen comes into possession of a new laptop and soon discovers that the previous owner is not only watching him, but will also do anything to get it back.

Moving From The Supernatural World…

The first Unfriended movie was a bit of a bolt from the blue for me – I had heard whispers about it’s release but I didn’t expect it to be anywhere near as entertaining as it was.

It was a paranormal movie, like most Found Footage films are, but it was extremely original and professionally done – it rocked!

The most surprising aspect of Unfriended: Dark Web is that the filmmakers have managed to move the new plot out from the supernatural world and put it in a very real, and frightening aspect of everyday life – the dark web.

Not only this – they’ve managed to switch semi-genres in an extremely successful fashion…and I didn’t see it coming.

This sequel makes use of the same on-screen layout – everything takes place on the main character’s laptop screen, and we can see him switching from social platform to social platform etc.

But there’s nothing demonic or supernatural about this movie…which kinda makes it a lot more effective than the first offering (in my humble opinion!).

Conclusion

A winner from my point of view…but unfortunately not everyone seems to think that way.

At the time of writing this the movie has suffered from the ‘Found Footage Nazi’s’ on IMDb, and it’s rating sits at just 5.4 (averaged out of 2,684 scores). Not exactly fair in my book.

What I don’t get is that 99.9% of the people out there that have watched this movie will have gone into it with their eyes wide open – they will know what genre the film sits in and they will be aware of it’s layout…

So why bother watching it then bitching about it online…if you don’t even like this type of thing to begin with?

It’s like me sitting down and watching one of the Fifty Shades of Grey movies, then bitching about it afterwards (for the record – I WOULDN’T shit through that shit, no matter how much you paid me!).

So don’t be put off by the haters – this has a lot to offer the Found Footage community.

Director Stephen Susco has tapped into the ‘unknown fear’ most of us have felt on the internet – that lingering fear that reminds us that anyone could be watching every move we make online…we’re vulnerable.

On top of this, we constantly offer the world updates and personal information about ourselves…without ever really thinking about it.

There are minor downsides linked to the plot, but these can easily be ignored through the enjoyment registered by the remainder of the movie (the hacker’s movements and actions did feel a little too ‘convenient’ at times!).

I should also point out that HD movies on the internet usually means a WebRip – this format is NOT exactly HD quality and in this case…the movie suffers from it somewhat. Remember that numerous scenes rely on the watcher being able to read the text flying across our main protagonist’s monitor…

But that’s what you get for watching the movie illegally (I can live with that!).

12 Comments

Watched this one and enjoyed it. For me, it felt like a mix of The Den and Ratter but with its own unique parts. And I think we FF fans should ignore IMDb ratings because anti-FF users just like to bash every FF.

I think you are writing from a lover of this type of film and not a neutral watcher. Haters aren’t everywhere.
I may watch a style of movie I like and many won’t, ratings suffer, but I won’t take it personally.

The plot sounds intriguing and interesting with a lot of suspense thrown in to mix it up. Having someone watching you through your laptop brings the plot to reality as this could actually happen.

Is unfriended – The Dark Web a sequel to unfriended and if so how have they managed to tie in the supernatural aspect of the first movie to the second or is it completely different storyline altogether?

Great post! I think you are right, and that real life is scarier than fiction. You probably get a good jump scare from all the “mainstream” horror films, but once you leave the cinema its hard to imagine that stuff happening in real life right? Well that why something like this is actually scary.

Once the movie is over, the Dark Web is STILL THERE. I am sure everyone has heard of all the stuff that happens on the Dark Web but having never actually being there, these are all just rumors. The scariest part is that there are people out there infinitely more skilled than the common person who uses the internet.

These people can effectively disappear and reappear anywhere, in any shape or form. The anonymity is probably the scariest part because they know about you (as much as you give out- which is actually a lot). The only way you get to know anything about them is if they tell you. So that is why I think Unfriended is legitimately scary, because this is grounded in reality.